Government losing revenue
Fake class 11 books flood market before genuine books arrive
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Classes for students who recently passed the Secondary School Certificate examination are set to begin on September 24. Students are required to purchase Class 11 textbooks from designated publishers approved by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) that print the books after paying royalties to the government.
The legitimate publishers have already sent lists of NCTB approved textbooks to libraries across the country. However, before genuine books reach students, the market has been flooded with fake books printed by a fraudulent group. As a result, students are being deceived by purchasing fake books while the government is losing a significant amount of revenue.
According to the NCTB, the group has long been illegally producing and marketing NCTB approved books through anonymous printing presses.
Raid on Secret Printing Press and Attack
At around 9:00 pm on September 15, information was received that NCTB approved books were being secretly printed and bound at an unnamed printing press in the “Panir Factory Goli” near Jhauchar Gudaraghat in the capital’s Hazaribagh area.
The printing press is owned by Manik Mia. When asked about illegally printing fake books, he could not provide a satisfactory answer.
After receiving the information, SI Ashraf of Hazaribagh Police Station and representatives of various publishing companies went to the site. They found a large quantity of forms and covers of various textbooks under the NCTB approved syllabus ready for binding.
Among them were “Bangla Grammar and Composition” published by Akkharpatra Prakashani and various important books including physics, chemistry and biology books published by Hasan Book House.
When police and publishers asked to see the authorization to print the books, they were attacked.
When police began preparing a seizure list of the illegal books, a group of 20 to 25 people led by Faisal and Masud Rana started creating further chaos. They verbally abused police and publishers and behaved aggressively.
At one point, the group obstructed the seizure of the books and suddenly attacked two representatives of Hasan Book House, creating a frightening situation. Facing intense obstruction and attacks, police were forced to leave the scene without completing their work.
LCTB and publishers said Faisal and Masud Rana had also been involved in producing similar fake books during the previous government. They are now portraying themselves as supporters of the current government and continuing the illegal business.
Regarding the matter, Masud Rana said, “I am doing this business legally, not illegally.”
When attempts were made to contact Faisal, he hung up the phone without making any comment.
SI Ashraf of Hazaribagh Police Station said, “I and several others were attacked while conducting a raid on the press where books were being printed illegally. The matter has been reported to the higher authorities and the NCTB.”
Those concerned said the criminals have repeatedly escaped punishment by taking advantage of various loopholes and weaknesses in the Copyright Act 2023 and are making millions of taka through the business.
As a result, legitimate publishers who regularly pay government revenue and conduct their businesses legally are being severely affected.
The NCTB markets most Class 11 books through designated publishers after collecting a 12% royalty. The government earns significant revenue from this. However, when these books are illegally sold in the market, the government loses the royalty revenue.
